SMU 49, Tulane 21: What We Learned

[caption id="attachment_19553" align="alignright" width="278"]Photo by Jeff Goldberg Photo by Jeff Goldberg[/caption] SMU was able to notch its second win in the first season with coach Chad Morris at the helm. He said he wanted send the seniors out with two more wins. Well, he got the first one tonight.Seniors Laying the Foundation. Morris said earlier this week that he wanted to honor the seniors because they “bought in when it was tough to buy in.” Well, that all came to fruition when the team notched win No. 2 in Morris’ inaugural season. Without the chance of becoming bowl eligible, it seemed as though this win was more than just a win. For one, it was a sendoff to the senior players whom Morris said “withstood a lot of adversity,” and wanted that final moment at home to be a special one with a win. But really, it is a start, a foundation for the future. In rebuilding anything, it starts dirty, tough and usually it requires the upperclassmen to endure more pain due to the fact that they will not be on campus their work come to fruition. With that, Morris was able to share a final home win with the bridge builders whom he counted on for leadership this season. Please Don’t Get Offensive. Or do. This game started off slow, but by the second quarter, the SMU offense began to roll. Playing a huge role in that was running back Xavier Jones, who was having success against the Green Wave defense on the ground, while quarterback Matt Davis picked his spots on when to call his own number. That combo, with Courtland Sutton being the go-to guy in the passing game was good for 35 first-half points. Jones, who finished with 117 yards and three touchdowns, reached a milestone in career touchdown (10) numbers for a freshman in the SMU record books. Not a bad start for the North Houston (Spring High) alumnus. Tulane, on the other hand, was about as inept offensively as one could imagine (unless you watched the Georgia offense at certain moments today). Attitude is Foundational. As mentioned earlier, Morris has clearly worked to change the culture at SMU. You hear this referenced to a lot from programs looking to improve after years of going stagnant. It’s evident there’s a new energy to this team, and they seem to want to play for one another. There have been some rough times this season, but tonight was not that night. This culture shift is a mindset and an attitude, one that must be at the foundation for a program to thrive. Good to see Morris put in the work to start that Pony Express rolling again. But like many whom are good at this level, the hope is that he will remain in Dallas long enough see it all come together for multiple winning seasons.